UFC 84 recap: Penn defends, Silva demolishes, Ortiz frustrated

It was built as the biggest lightweight fight in UFC history, and though UFC lightweight champ B.J. Penn (13-4-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC) successfully defended his title against former champ Sean Sherk (32-3-1 MMA, 6-3 UFC), the fight didn’t exactly go as expected.

We saw little to none of Penn’s trademark Brazilian jiu-jitsu; the same went for Sherk’s world-class wrestling.

Instead, the three-round fight resembled a kickboxing match with Penn landing with better accuracy and more damage.

After cutting the former champ under both eyes with jabs and the occasional uppercut, Penn ultimately ended it with a flying knee that floored Sherk as the third round came to a close. A flurry of late-round punches put the exclamation point on the victory and kept Sherk from answering the bell for the fourth round.

“It was going to be a competitive fight, and I knew I was going to have to come out here and show something different,” Sherk said. “I felt like I was pretty competitive there on the feet, so I figured I’d keep it there on the feet.”

It proved to be his downfall.

The fight was marketed as the classic grudge match. Penn continually reminded fans and the media of Sherk’s failed July 2007 drug test. Although he still maintains his innocence, Sherk was eventually stripped of the title, and Penn won it the next month.

“Sean was mad at me, but I said, ‘I’m going to create the biggest fight in history,” Penn said.

The fight failed to live up to those lofty expectations, but there’s now no doubting that Penn is truly the UFC’s No. 1 lightweight.

MAIN CARD

Despite three consecutive losses in PRIDE and the UFC, Wanderlei Silva was the clear crowd favorite in the night’s co-main event. And he didn’t disappoint.

Silva (32-8-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC) connected early on a combination that dazed opponent Keith Jardine (13-4-1 MMA, 5-3 UFC). He never let up on the assault and continued battering Jardine with punches. After referee Steve Mazzagatti issued the “TUF” alumn a warning to fight back, Silva pinned him down by the throat and landed three final punches that knocked Jardine out cold.

The bout was stopped, and Silva was awarded the TKO victory just 36 seconds into the first round.

Jardine lie motionless on the mat for three minutes before leaving the cage under his own power.

“I’m very happy,” Silva said. “It’s a good victory for me and my fans — to come back for a victory like this.”

Silva suddenly finds himself back in title contention, and Jardine, who was so close to a title shot, once again has a long road ahead of him.

One of the biggest storylines from the UFC 84 main card was Tito Ortiz‘s potentially last fight in the UFC. After the former champ’s very public feud with UFC president Dana White, both made it clear that Ortiz would be fighting for the final time in the UFC after meeting the tough and undefeated Lyoto Machida.

For The Huntington Beach Bad Boy, one of the worst scenarios came to fruition: Machida (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) won in his conservative and sometimes-boring style, and he made Ortiz (15-6-1 MMA, 14-6-1 UFC) look just as lackluster in the process.

Machida continually skirted away from Ortiz’s attempts to clinch, and the only continual action came late in the final round. Machida connected on a knee to the liver that sent his opponent to the canvas. However, when he followed Ortiz to the mat, Machida was suddenly locked in a triangle choke and arm-bar. Machida, though, escaped both submission attempts just before the round ended.

It was enough to earn Machida the shutout unanimous-decision victory (30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards).

Ortiz, who was visibly frustrated throughout the course of the fight, addressed the crowd after the bout, and he didn’t rule out re-signing with the UFC. But he didn’t make it sound very promising either.

“A lot of the stuff that happened before between me and Dana White is all [expletive],” Ortiz said. “It’s just hard feelings that we have toward each other. It’s personal. The Fertittas (UFC owners) have been awesome people, what they’ve done for the UFC. … I need to thank them.

“You know, I gave 11 years to this octagon. It’s too bad I’m leaving now. I’m going to greener pastures, I hope, in the future. You’re going to see me fight a lot more. I’ve got a lot of great fans.”

Although a series of head and body kicks did substantial damage throughout the first two rounds, Reljic’s left hook ultimately set up the victory. The blow connected to the side of Gouveia’s head and sent him crashing to the mat. The assault continued there, and after Gouveia couldn’t fight back or defend the flurry of punches, Herb Dean stepped in to halt the fight.

Reljic posted his eighth straight victory — and snapped Gouveia’s four-fight win streak in the UFC — at 3:15 of the second round.

“I trained like an animal for this fight for two months,” Reljic said. “I think I deserved it.”

Light heavyweight Thiago Silva (13-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) kept his perfect record intact, but UFC newcomer Antonio Mendes (14-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) gave him an early scare. Just seconds into the fight, Mendes threw a head kick, and though Silva blocked it, the force of the blow sent him to the canvas. Silva quickly recovered but was again sent to the mat with a body kick.

He again got to his feet, and after Mendes failed to execute a hip-toss, Silva secured the mount position and rained down punches until his opponent tapped out. The victory came at 2:24 of the first round, but Silva admitted the head kick had him rattled.

“It really did hurt me,” Silva said through a translator. “He was surprisingly [stronger] than I expected.”

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